• Home
• News
• Archive
• About
• Calendar
• Directory
• Advertisers
• Contact Us

VIEWPOINT

Remembering Our History Puts Present in Perspective

August 2007

Emeryville is a city in the throes of an exciting transformation. Yet, in today’s instant-gratification, rapid change, technology-will-solve-all-of-our-problems-society, it’s easy to take for granted the unbelievable advances in the quality of life we have realized in Emeryville over the last twenty years.

Memories fade with the passage of time. In an increasingly transient and mobile society, newcomers to Emeryville will have no memory of what the “old” city used to look like. Even for long-time residents, it’s easy to forget the vastly different city Emeryville was, just several decades ago.

Soon, a modern state of the art life sciences building will officially open in Emeryville, erected on the site of what was several faded warehouses and storefronts. Beyond greatly improving the look of Hollis Street – a major gateway to Emeryville – the new EmeryStation East Building will house scientists and engineers conducting stem cell, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and other advanced technical and scientific research that was unthinkable even a decade ago. Yet now, here it is, ready to open and start operating, right in the middle of a city that used to known for steel mills, paint plants, and canneries.

Beyond the lifesaving scientific advancements that may come from scientists housed in this new building, over its lifetime the EmeryStation East building will yield a bounty of hundreds of thousands of dollars that will strengthen our Emery schools, the Emery Go Round bus service, public art that helps beautify our city, and generate other tax revenue that supports City services. The businesses that locate in the new building will generate more hotel stays and restaurants visits, more sales tax and other revenue, further strengthening City finances – and the City’s ability to continue to provide quality services to residents, businesses and visitors alike. [See the accompanying chart on this page for a breakdown of the taxes and fees generated by new developments in Emeryville].

Final approval for a new development often comes down to reviewing the size and shape of flower boxes, sidewalk widths, brightness of lights, signage, types of drought-resistant foliage to be planted, and other mind-numbing minutiae. But let’s keep things in their proper perspective. Before we get too bogged down in the details, let’s all pause for a moment, take a deep breath and remind ourselves that a new phase of Emeryville’s history and remarkable transformation is being written with the opening of each new building, retail center, and park. The prosperous, enjoyable, and livable city Emeryville has become today would be virtually unrecognizable to those who remember the grimy, decaying Emeryville of decades past.

The real accomplishment is not hashing out the details; it’s the realization of the vision and conviction of our government, civic, and business leadership. Let’s not lose sight of how incredibly far we have advanced as a community, and what scientific miracles await to be unlocked, right in the middle of our small town. That is a vision we can all be truly proud of.